Seal's Release
by The Sage of Spirits
Summary: They were becoming a pain in his side. He knew he had to do something - and he did. With the power of an ancient book, he locked them away within the seals of the Summon Spirits... But what happens when one of them manages to escape?
1. Prologue: Release

_**The Safe of Spirits:** Sigh... This idea has been in my head for a while now, and it's replayed in my head so many times at so many different points it literally wrote itself.  
**Presea:** That is illogical.  
**Regal:** He means that he could probably outline this particular story relatively easily.  
**Presea:** ...I see.  
**Me:** Wow, first time I had either of you in my A/N. _:O_ Someone do the disclaimer.  
**Presea:** The Sage of Spirits does not own Tales of Symphonia or Namco.  
**Me:** Please read! And before I forget..._

_"Italics" - Summon Spirit speak  
_"**Bold**" **- Summon Spirit speak **_(there's a difference, trust me - I'm just being evil and keeping it hidden for now.)_

_**Me:** Everything else is the same thing I normally use. (Italics for thought, "Normal" for speech, etc.) _

* * *

**Seal's Release**

**Prologue: Release**

Yggdrasil was in his humungous library, shifting through book after book of spells. He sat at the table as several mindless angels brought the books from off the shelves. Skimming through each book quickly, he knew he had to act fast.

As he searched for a way to stop them, they slowly grow stronger. They were becoming a heavy thorn in his side; Yggdrasil knew he had to act now. But the question was hard to answer. What should he do?

As the next angel took and brought the next book, Yggdrasil ordered a quick halt. This book…

"This might just work!" He shouted, a sinister smirk growing on his face. "I think I shall look at this one in more depth…" he said as he began to read the mysterious book.

Midway through, he noticed a particular incantation – a spell that would stop his inferior enemies' actions indefinitely. A malicious grin grew on his face as his plans began to take form.

When he got to the end, Yggdrasil closed the book with a devious expression on his face. This new plan of his was too perfect to be true. But fortunately for him, it was true – every word of it.

"Now then," Yggdrasil began talking to himself, "I shall give the son of Kratos' group one chance to join my fine organization. And if they still oppose me, I shall rid them from this world. Yes, I like the sound of that!" he said with a menacing laughter, throwing his hands through his long blond hair. "Now then, I must go to see where they are at this current moment…" he said and warped off for the control room…

_(--On Tethe'alla…--)_

"Lloyd! Get up!" Genis shouted from his place by the dead fire. The rest of the group had finished packing the majority of their stuff into the wingpack they were given - everything but the pillow and blanket that is currently being used by the sleeping teen. Genis snickered to himself; he knew a way to wake up the lazy teen… "Take this! Aqua Edge!"

"Ahh!" Lloyd shouted upon receiving a face-full of cold water. "Genis!"

"Come on, Lloyd! We need to get going!" the boy shouted at the other, grabbing the soaked items before they could be thrown by the now-awake Lloyd.

"Fine, fine…" he mumbled, shaking his head as the drops of water flew out of his hair. "So now we head for Gnome, right?" he asked after everything was put away.

"Yes. We should get going." Sheena replied, when she heard a strange noise coming from the trees. "Who's there?!" she shouted, pulling her cards from the pouch on her waist.

"I see that you are still trying to oppose me – a futile effort." The voice said, familiar both in tone and sound. Lloyd perked up, drawing his blades from their scabbards.

"Yggdrasil! What are you doing here?!" he shouted at the voice, hoping for the man to come out of hiding. Within moments, he revealed himself from behind a tree.

He floated a little closer with that smug grin of his. "I have come one last time. All of you, join me and my organization – the worlds will grow to accept its role as part of my new age." he said, opening his arms while watching the disgusted look on their faces. "What is so wrong about my plan?"

"A lot of things!" Lloyd yelled, entering his fighting stance. "We can't let you sacrifice anymore lives to your ideals!"

Instead of looking angry, Yggdrasil's smirk only grew, adding to the tension of the group's fears. What could he be planning? Pulling out a book, Yggdrasil read the words inside of it, his right palm facing the group.

"Oh mighty seal, bind these fools to the power of the elements!" he shouted at the group, his palm retaining a light orb. Within the blink of an eye, it fired off and stopped in front of the group. "Activate!"

The orb suddenly stretched horizontally until it encircled them; they soon fell onto the ground, beginning to glow with peculiar colors.

"What's… going on?!" Lloyd gritted through his teeth, trying to turn his head towards Raine.

"I don't know, but-" she began, until they were completely covered by their color. They started floating when they were dispersed through the air.

Yggdrasil watched with a wry smile as his enemies flew off in different directions. "I'm glad to see that it worked. A shame – they could have had the pleasure of aiding me and my goals. But they were just being too stubborn," he said, running his hand through his long blond hair, "now look at where it brought them to. Ah well; they are now out of my way." he said before laughing mischievously, warping back up to Derris-Kharlan.

_(--Unknown…--)_

Lloyd slowly opened his eyes and instantly noticed that he was floating. Shock took hold of him and he sat up, looking around with his eyes wide open. Everything he saw was dark hue, with lines of a light purple running through it. "Where am I…?"

_"You are here in my seal with me, boy."_ A voice called out, startling him. He looked around, trying to find out who it was when a figure appeared.

"Who are you?" Lloyd asked the man. He had long blond hair with four arms and a well-built chest. His legs were covered by a peculiar purple armor of some sort.

_"Not that it matters to you, but I'm Origin."_ The figure said, floating upwards until he faced the teen; Origin began to smile as an idea formulated in his head. _"Now that you know who I am, I want you to hold still. I can get us out of here."_ he said as he moved closer to Lloyd, who had a slight look of fear on his face.

"What are you planning to do?" Lloyd asked when Origin was within inches of his being. Origin never answered; he simply threw his arms around the boy, who tried to escape his grasp and found that he could not.

Suddenly, Lloyd began feeling power welling up from within him as the man slowly disappeared. Moments afterward, he had a strange feeling inside of him; when he closed his eyes to blink, he was forced back even though he never moved. When Lloyd opened his eyes again…

"**There. That was not so hard, boy.**" Lloyd looked down and noticed that he was staring at himself, only that he was staring at a solid him. Upon looking at himself, he found that he was in a spiritual form; he screamed. "**Relax. You are still in your body. I'm just controlling you.**" he heard his own voice say with a snide, which made him want to shout even more. He watched himself smirk. "**Do not mess with me, boy. Now that I have a physical form, we are leaving.**" Origin said, pounding Lloyd's fists together while muttering an incantation.

With a flash of light, they were gone…

* * *

_**Me:** Definitely not like any of my other stories...  
**Regal:** Indeed. This is a particularly different twist compared to your other stories.  
**Me:** If you can't tell, this won't be a Cruxis Lloyd... Wow, I haven't written a new CruLloyd story in a while. _O.O_ I must be sick or something... _(XD)  
_**Presea:** You are sick? Take this medicine then.  
**Me:** Not physically Presea, but thanks anyway. Well, I STILL have that CruLloyd story that I want to do... But not until I finish a story. -sweatdrop- Oh wait, I'm also doing that challenge in the FE Archives... What to do...? _:\  
_**Regal:** Review please._


	2. The Diamond Swordsman

_**The Safe of Spirits:** Sigh... Chapter1.  
**Presea:** You do not seem excited.  
**Regal: **No, he doesn't.  
**Me:** Well, I realized that this has a minor minor MINOR concept that - quite frankly - scares the hell out of me, so I thought to end it. But instead, I thought of a way to avoid it. But it meant that I had to restructure the entire story. But I got it settled now. Someone do the disclaimer.  
**Presea:** The Sage of Spirits does not own Tales of Symphonia or Namco.  
**Me:** Please read! And before I forget... If something isn't the way it should be, blame doc manager - the italics hates me for some reason. _T-T

* * *

**Seal's Release**

**Chapter 1: The Diamond Swordsman**

Origin closed the boy's eyes, wanting to make seeing the outside of the seal a surprise. The first thing he felt was the wind blowing against their face. Upon opening his eyes, he saw the forest outside of his summoning stone. _**The forest… It hasn't changed in the slightest…**_ he thought, looking down at the grass, the atmosphere as ancient as it was so long ago.

_How long were you sealed?_ Lloyd asked the Summon Spirit, who had only sighed.

**_I have been sealed for over four thousand years, human child. You could not even grasp that such a length of time with your puny lifespan._ **Origin spat at the boy, turning his attention to the area around him. _**It's been so long since I've seen it.**_ He then looked down again, seeing the boy he was borrowing. **_And it's been over five thousand years since I have had a physical existence in the world…_**

_What are you talking about?_ Lloyd continued to ask, floating around him. _Are you saying that you were once human?_

**…Your usefulness has run out. You can have your body back.** he told the boy as he brought his hands together; he closed his eyes in concentration. **"Release."** he said, opening his eyes again. Origin gasped lightly in shock, finding that he was still within the teen.

_What's wrong? Doesn't that work?_

**"Humph. Let me try again." **he scoffed in the teen's voice, taking his stance again; putting forth an extreme amount of concentration not normally seen within the boy, he closed his eyes. **"Release!"** he shouted this time, his eyes shooting open. Looking at himself again, he found the teen's presence still nearby. **"Humph. I'm going to see what the problem is."** He said, closing his eyes.

Lloyd suddenly felt himself being pushed within him again, and he opened his eyes; he gasped, now feeling his arms and legs again, he began to smile happily. "Sweet, I'm me again."

**You were always you, you dense child.** Origin mocked from inside Lloyd's head, his voice resounding within. **_Also, I seem to have a problem with releasing you of my divine being._** He said, causing Lloyd to frown.

"What's that?"

**_Your body turned me into an inactive power source._** Origin said, projecting himself out from within the boy.

"Whoa, how did you do that?!" he said with shock, watching the spirit face-palm. "Sorry if I can't help it that I'm-"

"An idiot. I merely projected myself out from within you. But moving onto to more important things," Origin sighed with annoyance, "It means that I'm not an active source of power for you, and that I cannot exit your body, nor can I take control of it again. Believe me; after I found out about it, I tried myself."Origin finished in his normal voice, receiving a mild glare from the teen; the Summon Spirit gasped lightly upon seeing the angered stare on the boy's face. Lloyd's face was replaced by Kratos' in Origin's eyesight, and he noted the startling similarities. "Hmm…" Origin hummed lightly, a wicked smile growing on his face.

Lloyd looked at the spirit cautiously, a look of concern evident on his face. "What are you thinking? You aren't planning to do something to me, are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the growing smile on Origin's face.

"Oh no – not yet, at any rate," he said with his wicked smile as he began looking at the teen's forehead, "I'm just going to go exploring in your memories. It is to see if I can be correct in confirming what I just saw." he said, watching as the teen widened his eyes.

"But you can't do that! Those are my memories, not yours!" the teen shouted; Origin simply raised his eyebrows, a look Lloyd could easily recognize – a look of "defiance," like he had not the care enough to bother with listening. "And besides, there are memories even I can't remember, even though I wish I could." He said, slightly more forlorn than he wanted.

"Oh? And why is that?" the man replied, trying to pry the information from within. Depending on the boy's response, he figured, that was where he was going to look first.

"Well…" Lloyd began, still looking saddened, "it's the time I had with my parents. Sometime when I was little, we got separated, and later my mom died. I can't even remember her at all, yet apparently she saved me… And I can just barely remember my dad – it was at night, and we were looking at the stars. I can barely hear his voice, but it's so faded I can't make it out." he said as he reminisced the past, an unknown smile working its way onto his lips.

Origin's smile grew to its fullest extent; that was where he was going to look for confirmation. He knew he was going to find the answer in those "lost" memories of the boy. "I see. Well, there is only one thing I am willing to say." the spirit paused, and unknowingly to Lloyd, slowly moving closer to him. "That is where I'm going to start looking." he said, speeding off into Lloyd's forehead before the teen had the chance to stop him…

_(--Origin…--)_

_**Now then, if I'm to find him in this boy's memories, I need to start with the memory he said earlier.**_ he thought as he turned his attention to his two front hands. With a snap of the fingers, his front hands started to glow; placing one hand forward, he began to focus on that time and place as he manipulated the space, becoming a mere observer of that time.

**_Ah, here we are._** he smiled wickedly, floating through the memory. He looked around, spotting the teen as a young child; he was sitting in the lap of an older man. He appeared to have had a purple outfit, though he was not sure (as it was dark out), and a sword strapped to his waist. He saw the auburn hair and knew he was right. **_Hah. I am always correct in my assumptions. I am never surprised by my infinite amount of knowledge and observation._** he bragged, watching the scene; after all, one never knew if something could be used for blackmail unless one waited, he smirked.

"Daddy, what that one?" young Lloyd asked the man with complete curiosity, turning his attention toward the smiling man. Kratos placed a hand onto the boy's head, gently running through the strands of light brown hair.

"That is Origin's belt. It's visible in this time of the year. There's a story on how the heavens honored Origin with his courageous actions by making this constellation of him." he said, watching his son beam happily at hearing a story. "But that will be saved for another night." he finished, laughing softly at the disappointed moan Lloyd released. "Now, now, Lloyd, it's time for bed."

"One more, one more!" a restless Lloyd shouted in Kratos' lap. Kratos had to grab him to keep him still.

"Alright, just one more. If your mother finds out that I'm keeping you out here past your bedtime, I'll be the one who hears about it, not you." he joked, smiling at the giggling child.

"'Kay, Daddy." Lloyd smiled, leaning back closer to the man; he curled up on his father's chest, the boy's hair just under his chin.

"Comfy?" Kratos asked, trying to look down at his son; he received a simple nod and smile. He then wrapped his arms around the boy, hearing a content sigh of security escaping his lips. "Well then, which one should we do now…" he mused, rubbing what he could of his chin with his hand. "Ah, I know. This one is your mother's favorite. It's called Bounded Hearts. If you look closely, you will see Origin and Luna holding hands."

Origin flinched slightly, turning his head to the sky. Sure, the Origin's Belt bit was one of his more egotistically heroic moments, but he had not known about this 'Bounded Hearts' his seal holder spoke of. He found the spot Kratos was pointing to and gasped; there was Luna – as promised – and himself, holding each other's hands. They were in human form, which further shocked the spirit, a subtle, gentle smile appearing on his face. He even noticed how they were staring at the other happily.

The spirit sighed; how long has it been since he saw his love? Four thousand years, at most? **_Luna, how I long to see you again…_**

"Why call that?" he asked, looking up at the man.

Kratos only lightly smiled. "They are like your mother and me, in a sense. As much as I love your mother, Origin loved Luna. There are several stories telling of their love. One of them deals with Luna's partner, Aska. Aska was once a small bird trapped by a terribly evil creature. The bird screamed for help until his voice was sore, and he lost all hope as he was being cornered by this terrible beast."

Lloyd sat there as tears started welling up in his eyes. "Aww… bad thing!" he shouted, raising his tiny fist into the air.

"But then Origin heard Aska's voice, and found and saved him." Kratos said, smiling at the tiny "Yay!" that slipped out of Lloyd's mouth. "Aska thanked Origin dearly, and wanted to follow him. However, Origin told him that he would be unable to keep him safe during fights, as he fought with twin swords in the frontlines – and he did not want him to lose the life that was saved. Aska grew disheartened, and began to leave, when Origin stopped him."

"What he say?" Lloyd interrupted, brimming with curiosity. "What he say? What he say?"

"Quiet down, Lloyd, I'm getting there." Kratos chided lightly, waging his finger disapprovingly; he watched the boy frown slightly and apologized (in his own special way, of course). "Origin told Aska, 'If you can promise to keep Luna safe and protect her, I will give you to her top keep safe. I know she would love you, Aska.' Aska told Origin that he would protect her with his life, and he flew into Origin's hands."'

Lloyd continued to smile, trying his best to yawn softly…

"When Origin returned to his group, he searched for his Luna – he found her making a new craft for her collection. Walking up to her, he hid Aska behind his back. He said, 'Luna, I have something for you I know you will love.' With a bit of curiosity, Luna stopped what she was doing. When Origin revealed Aska, she shouted with joy, gently placing Aska on the palm of her hand."

Lloyd found comfort in his father's strong, protective chest…

"Lloyd, I'll finish the story inside." he said, lifting the boy into his arms. "You're falling asleep, so I'll put you to bed and finish the story in your room, alright?" he told the toddler, who weakly nodded his head. Rocking the boy gently, Kratos softly hurried into their new temporary home, rushing past his lovely Anna.

She smiled calmly at the man, a serene expression gracing her face. She gently rubbed her hands through the boy's hair; Lloyd softly smiled, trying to grab his mother's fingers. Nodding her head slowly, she opened the door that lead to Lloyd's room, allowing the man to enter easily. She then closed the door behind them, making sure there was no resounding slam in the air.

Kratos placed the half-conscious boy onto his bed, pulling up the covers over the majority of his small body. "Now then, where was I?" he asked himself softly, rubbing his chin. "Ah yes, that's right. Luna was so happy when she was given Aska, who was standing on her palm. He then told her, 'I am Aska. As thanks for saving me, Origin asked that I keep you safe, and I intend to do so, with or without your consent.' Luna simply smiled, closing her eyes gently – she leaned closer to Origin, planting a kiss onto his lips."

Lloyd nodded his sleepy head, trying to listen to the story but the tiredness gaining the upper hand…

"And Aska kept his promise, even after so long. When Origin and his friends and family were turned into the ruling Summon Spirits, Aska still remained by her side, as he became the Lesser Summon Spirit of Light, guardian and protector of Luna. And that is the story of Aska, the Lesser Summon Spirit of Light." Kratos finished, turning his attention onto Lloyd; the child's breathing was soft and slow as he slept.

Origin continued to watch even as the memory began to fade away, the last thing he saw was Kratos kissing Lloyd on the forehead goodnight. His thoughts turned back onto the time when he first met Aska. **_It's been so long since I first met him. I had not thought that story would still be told. But then again, this is Kratos of all people we talking about._** he sighed, getting irritated at thinking about the seal holder.

But remembering how much Kratos had changed (or as depicted in the memory), Origin began to grin, thoughts of revenge evident in his smile. **_Perhaps I could use that against you. Yes, that would work. I could also tell the only one who might not even know of his connection to you, causing you even more pain for being a part of my sealing. Ah, what a wonderful way to get vengeance…_** he chuckled to himself; snapping his fingers, Origin felt himself moving at high speeds, eventually leaving the boy's memories…

_(--Lloyd…--)_

Lloyd was sitting close to the summoning stone, tapping his foot with severe annoyance. But then, he felt the presence within him again, and knew the conniving Summon Spirit was out of his memories. A moment later, he felt power welling up inside, and soon the saw that the spirit projected himself out again.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes in anger, his voice sounding dangerously low. "I told you not to enter my memories. If you did anything to my memories, I'll…"

"What could you do? I'm technically inside of you, so punching me in this projected form is basically punching air," he said, crossing his front pair of arms across his chest, "besides, I might be able to help you in another way." He said, trying his best to hide his smirk.

Lloyd raised his eyebrow in disbelief. "Yeah? And what would that be?" he said with unintentional interest; Origin knew he had him in his hands. Origin started to chuckle, trying to lure the boy even further. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," he toyed, a wry smirk growing on his face, "I merely find it slightly amusing that I'm stuck in the son of the man who originally sealed me." he threw out casually as he waited for the teen's response.

Lloyd remained in an utter state of shock, his eyes wide open and his mouth was gaping. What was he talking about? "What… do you mean?" he said after several moments had passed.

Origin mentally smirked wickedly, knowing that his revenge was now starting. "I do not know if you said that because you were in shock, or if you really are that stupid." Origin sighed, using his front right arm to face-palm. "I mean that your father was the one who sealed me in my summoning stone." he bitterly said, the emotion goes by unnoticed.

"My… my father? You know my Dad?! Why didn't you say anything?!" he shouted, unnerved at the new information. Origin sighed at the completely exaggerated response from the teen. But then he thought of an idea, and knew it would help him – or both of them, if he cared to see it that way. "Answer me, Origin!" Lloyd shouted; before he was able to receive a response, Origin stuck his hands into the teen's chest. Lloyd gasped when he saw the ghostly arms moving around, seemingly sporadic. "What are you doing?"

"You will see." was all the Summon Spirit said, continuing to fiddle around; upon finishing, he smirked confidently, activating what he as working on. Suddenly, Lloyd felt some sort of change going over him; wincing and sweating as it worsened, he had to kneel onto the ground. Moments afterward, Lloyd wobbly stood up, rubbing his head. "Now, how do you feel?"

"I feel… surprisingly calm, considering the fact that you told me that my father was the one who sealed you away four thousand years ago." he replied, closing his eyes; flinching slightly, he caught what he had just said. "Origin, what exactly did you do to me?"

"Simple – I changed your personality. As soon as you started shouting, I got annoyed. Then I thought up the idea of giving you a different personality, and now you are not freaking out." he said, hearing the teen release a light cough in annoyance. "See? We both benefit from this change."

"Well, I can see why it would be deemed necessary to change my personality during something like this, where I would normally be in shock," he stated, lowering his head slightly, "but I would prefer that this change be only until this shock is no longer one." he said, sighing lightly. "This way of speaking is highly disturbing."

"I thought you would have liked this personality – it is your father's after all." he said with a somewhat disgusted tone of voice, which Lloyd had now picked up on.

"I would prefer it if you would stop doing that." Lloyd stated calmly, rubbing his temple. "So this is my father's personality… It feels eerily familiar. In fact, I know who has this personality." he said, pausing.

"And who is that?" Origin taunted, wanting the satisfaction of revealing the boy's 'mysterious' past. "You know you want to confirm whether or not you are right."

Lloyd shook his head. "No. I don't want to know if I am correct."

Origin frowned; this was not going according to plans. **_Wait, I believe I know what I can do._ **"Well then, by my power of time and space, I shall restore the memory I visited." he said, watching as the teen refused.

"No, Origin. I don't want to-" he began, when Origin interjected.

"You do not want to remember the man who helped give you life?" he asked, watching as the teen grew quiet. Too quiet. "I'm going to restore one memory you had with… him. I have that power – are you saying that you are happy with what you have now?"

Lloyd remained quiet; he was speechless. Here he was, being granted to clearly see his foggy memory, and he did not know if he seriously wanted it. "I…"

"I will take that as a 'yes.'" he said, snapping his fingers. Lloyd instantly collapsed onto the earth, his head pounding. Slowly, he felt the haze clearing from his memory. After what felt like half-an-hour – which was only roughly ten minutes, he gasped lightly. "Now that the haze has cleared, do you find yourself correct in your assumption?"

Lloyd lowered his head, closing his eyes. "It's… it's Kratos. Kratos is my father… I see." he sighed, turning his attention onto the Summon Spirit. "Origin, I'm going to need his personality for a while. At least until I can come to grips with this. Even if that means that I must talk like this for a few days." he said, obviously disturbed at the matter.

Origin stared at the boy, noticing his fatigue. "Rest, boy. I will keep watch over you. While I can't control you – even when you are asleep, I can keep an eye out. However, sensing my presence will keep them away, but you cannot be too certain." he said, watching the boy yawn widely.

"You are right – I am tired. But isn't there a place nearby?" Lloyd asked, sitting down in front of the summoning stone.

"Traveling through my forest in your tired condition would be too much stress on your human body." he replied, avoiding slight eyesight with the teen. Luckily for him, Lloyd's tiredness prevented him from noticing. "I will not tell you again before I make you sleep myself." Origin threatened, a smile growing on his face. He even folded his front arms across his chest and his back hands were rubbing together sinisterly.

Lloyd grunted. "Alright. I shall sleep here for a while. I trust you will keep an eye on the area while I rest." he responded, settling down onto the grass, leaning his back against the summoning stone; his right knee was in the air, his right hand resting on it. His other leg was straight, his other arm resting across it. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"How humans nowadays are able to sleep in such fashions and quickness like this still elude me." Origin noted, using one of his hands to rub his head. He then focused on the path, scanning the area; his back to the teen for several minutes. Looking back at the boy to make sure he was not faking (as he thought it would be fun to make him do something, whether he wanted to or not), he gasped at the symbol he saw on Lloyd's face. "That's… my symbol. He is one of my…?" he said, moving away strands of the boy's hair. Sighing lightly, he found his symbol – three horizontal, evenly spaced lines with a single vertical line going through the middle of all three lines – engraved onto Lloyd's forehead.

"Is that why he was sent to me?" he thought a loud, floating closer to the boy. "I would check his memories again, but I told him I would keep an eye out before he could ask, so I must do what I offered." he stated to himself, waiting for the teen to awaken…

_(--The Next Day…--)_

Lloyd stretched his relaxed muscles, feeling that the fatigue from his person had lifted off his shoulders. Looking around, he expected to see his friends; realizing where he was, he sighed, remembering what had happened just hours ago. Feeling the presence of the summon spirit within him, he rubbed his temple in annoyance. He even found the spirit (or rather, his projection) floating in front of him, his front arms crossed over his chest and his eyes mildly narrowed.

"Boy, we need to talk." Origin stated calmly.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes with severe annoyance. "I would appreciate that you would speak to me using my name, instead of calling me 'boy.' You are going to be with me for an undetermined amount of time – it would be helpful for you to use my name."

"Perhaps giving you his personality might not have been the best course of action – you are using his tone of voice I could never stand."

Lloyd shot the spirit a wry smirk, his eyes still narrowed. "Well be that as it may, I must have his personality until I get used to the thought that he is in fact my father." he said, watching with satisfaction as the spirit face-palmed. "I am Lloyd. Now what did you wish to speak about?"

"Fine then, Lloyd," he stretched with mild annoyance at the ignorance (though not being able to blame him, as he was partially to blame for it), "why did you end up in my seal? I ask merely because you bare my symbol."

Lloyd frowned slightly at the response, remembering the entire incident that took place. "Yggdrasil used some type of magic that warped me and my friends away from each other. I currently have no idea where I am, nor do I know what happened to them." he said, watching the response of the summon spirit. "Now I must ask what you mean about 'your symbol.'"

"What? Ah yes," he exclaimed, rubbing his chin, "my symbol, which – oddly enough – you happen to bare. Each of the ten summon spirits has a symbol that represents them. Only us, the Summon Spirits, can see them on any mortal, be they humans, elves, or half-elves. You hold my symbol, which would translate into your language as 'king,' as I am the King of all Summon Spirits." he said, finding that the teen closed his eyes – which normally meant that he was slightly surprised, if he correctly remembered how Kratos' personality functions.

"I see. Well then, I suppose it is more than coincidence that I ended up with you then." Lloyd deduced, receiving a nod from Origin.

"If there is one thing you gain from a different personality – like his, it is a higher intelligence level." he mocked, hearing the grunt from the male. "So Yggdrasil sent you to my seal… That is very disturbing. You said that you had friends with you, so I can only guess that they are with the other spirits – most likely the elemental spirits. I find it strangely coincidental, seeing that you are one of my sons."

Lloyd hid the fact that he was highly puzzled (though he never realized that he was doing so). "I am one of your sons? I know that Kratos is my biological father, Dirk is my foster father, but how do you play a part of my being?"

"I was speaking figuratively. You are not descended of me – none of the Summon Spirits have blood descendants. You were merely born in the time of my reign, making you one of my 'children' that way." Origin explained, watching as the teen nodded his head. "Not many are born during my reign for a special reason, so I do not have many 'children.' You are one of the lucky few."

"So then, are you saying that my friends were all born under the reign of each of the other Summon Spirits?"

"That is most likely the case, which is why each of your friends is most likely with a different spirit, trapped within the very seals themselves."

"So then, let us go save them." he simply told the spirit, getting onto his feet; he noticed that the man was still holding the same expression. "What is wrong?"

"I now feel a bond with you, upon knowing of our connection – like a father would normally feel towards his son." he explained, closing his eyes while his arms were still crossed over his chest. "It is strange. I feel compelled to help you, for some reason. Normally, that is not so, but with you… it is different. It might even be that I feel 'bad' about using you as part of my revenge." he admitted, seeing the teen hold a face of anger. "Do not look at me with such ignorance, boy – had you been under my situation, you would be peeved as well."

"Fine enough." he said, a slight smile on his face; it instantly disappeared, an unusually stoic expression appearing. "So it is because of that and our connection that you feel the need to help?" he stated, watching as the spirit nodded his head.

"Yes. And already being inside you as an untapped power source, I might as well pull my weight. Now remember this as well – I would not grant this to anyone." he began, pointing toward the teen. "However, seeing that you are who you are, I will make this one exception. I will allow you access to my power by assimilating into your body. You can then use all of my powers – in time – and I will be able to feel, see, hear everything you do – at the same time you do."

"So in other words," the boy began, crossing his arms, "you will become a part of me at the expense of me being able to use your power."

"Correct, but there is more. Once I assimilate with you, all of my memories will flow into your mind – and they will activate if I experience an emotional extreme. If that happens, my memories become dominant, and you will only know yourself as me. And I also have instant access into your memories." Origin said, beginning to smile. "Oh, and I become your master."

Lloyd sighed, wondering if the spirit was joking on the "master" bit. "Since you seem to want to help, and you are right – you are a useless power source for now, and that you are already inside of me, I suppose I have no real choice in the matter." he said, lowering his head. "What do I have to do?"

"Remove your top so I can perform a task." Origin said, floating behind the boy. Lloyd sighed and did as he was told (as he would have argued – if he had his own personality), removing his red jacket and then his black under top, revealing his bare back. He then threw off his suspenders and watched as they fell to the sides. Origin then stuck his hand into Lloyd's back, moving it into a certain pattern. As he moved his hand along the shoulders, and then waists, black-inked, tattoo-like marks appeared, finally ending with a black line down his spine. "There. Now all I have to do is…" he said, fully emerging into the boy.

Lloyd felt the spirit in one part of him, near the center of his being. Moments later, however, he felt the power spreading further out, like a hand was within his hand, a foot inside of his foot. He closed his eyes, sensing that Origin had as well. _Have you finished assimilating? I feel as if you are me._ he said.

**_Then it must be finished._ **Origin replied mentally with sarcasm. **_I have one thing to do._** he said, floating out from within the boy. "If you are to be my servant host, you are to look the part. Remove all of your clothes and I will provide you with proper ones the instant you remove the last article of clothing." he said, watching the teen raise his eyebrow. "If you need incentive, it is like you are stripping me."

"Thank you for giving me that thought." Lloyd said with utter distaste, grunting loudly. Sighing, he removed what was left and as soon as the last article was taken off, Origin snapped his fingers, and Lloyd saw spots of white all over his body.

When the sparkles disappeared, he looked at what he now wore. Turning his attention onto his arms, he spotted black sleeved gloves, with red stripes running along the both sides of each glove. They would have gone all the way to his shoulder blades, but they fell short, ending just a few inches off of his shoulder. Then he looked at his new black pants, red stripes on the ends as well, being well-tucked in a pair of black boots. "I look good, do I not?" Origin joked at the teen, watching him simply raise his eyebrow. "You need to find a way to show your humorous side when you have his personality, so that way we can tell him how to show it better."

"It is not my fault that my father has no humorous side visible." Lloyd countered. "I would suggest asking him personally whenever we run into him." he received a rather disgusted look from the spirit, which meant he still held a grudge against his father, Lloyd figured. "But moving on, I find the outfit rather… revealing – I would not want to walk into a town with my bare chest being exposed."

"I believe I can come up with a compromise." Origin exclaimed, snapping his fingers once more. Lloyd soon found himself wearing a black jacket, areas with red in similar places as his apparel was before. "This jacket is magically in tune to you, so whenever you come close within a city or town, it will appear on you. Everywhere else, it disappears and you will be bare-chested." he explained to the teen. "You will get used to being bare-chested, as I am within you after all."

"But I digress." Origin admitted, landing onto the ground. "By my power as King of the Summon Spirits, you are my 'Diamond Swordsman,' my loyal servant. You bare my crest, and you will fight in my name."

"I did not think you were serious, Origin." Lloyd stated, crossing his chest.

"Master Origin to you, Lloyd, the Diamond Swordsman." the spirit interjected, a wry smirk on his face. "Now then, I should tell you that in time, your muscles will adapt to mine and will be just as developed, so I would be cautious when near women. You know how they love that." he chuckled, watching the face of the teen twitch slightly. "You will also be able to summon a second set of arms as another influence of me being within you. And finally, you will be able to take my form, which will be needed when a summoner wishes to make a pact."

"So in other words," Lloyd began, "I have your duties of holding a pact. You mean that I can't just let someone have a pact, and must fight as you?"

"Correct, my Diamond Swordsman." Origin smiled; he was mentally grinning, as everything was working for him – he was now free and he even had a servant that would have to follow him… "Now there are some important things you should know…" Origin began, turning serious…

_(--Welgaia…--)_

Kratos walked into his room after performing some of his personal activities on the planets, ones that would get him closer to being with his son… He sighed; the hurt look in the boy's eyes whenever he ran into him nearly killed him – were that possible. He walked over to his desk, sitting himself down; he then threw his head into his hands, feeling the weight on his shoulders growing with every second.

But he knew that the faster he got things completed, the faster he could explain to him. _I know he will hate me for not telling him when we shared that wonderful time together… Perhaps then he would have been more understanding… No…_ he countered himself, his eyes turning toward the door. _I could not risk compromising my plans. I'm sorry, my son…_ he reaffirmed to himself, rubbing his head with his hands.

_I'd better-_ he thought, when he felt a certain spirit's energy begin to fade from his sensibility. _What is the meaning of this? The only thing that could cause this to happen is that…_ he thought when he widened his eyes. _Did Origin somehow escape? But how?_ he mused, trying to figure out any course of action plausible, to no avail. _I have to look into this before Yggdrasil finds out that Origin is no longer under the seal…_ he said in his mind, getting onto his feet. He walked through the door, preparing for his descent into the Torrent Forest…

* * *

_**Me:** Yeah, I didn't like how this chapter turned out. It has a lot more dialogue than what I normally would put in.  
**Regal:** Yes, but it was needed, was it not?  
**Me:** Yeah, it was needed, but I envisioned a little bit less than that. :\_  
_**Presea:** Is it needed?  
**Me: **I guess - some things needed to be explained, so that's why it's a little longer. _:\  
_**Regal:** Review please._


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